To access Blackboard, Browse to: http://www.ccsj.edu/blackboard/

Use this guide

to learn the

basics of Bb

Use your Blackboard login and password for access. If you have any questions, please contact jcoates@ccsj.edu for any problems.

Blackboard Training

Guide

From the My Courses Module, click the course name to open it.

The Basic Course Shell

The Welcome Screen

Open a course by clicking the link to it.

Your course will open to the Home Page (shown above). You DO NOT need to change or modify anything on this page. As you add announcements, content, Bb tests or Bb assignments, the content on the Home Page will automatically update. Your students will use the Home Page to get a quick view of course activity and due dates.

Basic Navigation

Turn Edit Mode ON to work on your course

Edit Mode: When Edit Mode is OFF, you are viewing the course as your students will see it. When the Edit Mode is ON you can modify your course (add material, change settings etc.). Click the Edit Mode button to turn it either on or off.

Return to the Home Page

The course Home Page. Your new Bb course will open with the Home Page. This page provides a bird’s-eye-view of the course for students. They can see a link to the course announcements, what’s new, and what’s due. You do not have to update this page. When you use Bb assignments or tests, or any item with a due date, the Home Page will automatically update.

Task Based Navigation: Navigate to the same spot in another course

Navigate your Course

Click a menu item to navigate to that area.

Navigate the Control Panel

Click the heading name to expand that section of the Control Panel.

Select your choice from the menu options.

The Course Menu: Click on the course menu items to navigate to that area of the course. Course Information and Course Material are areas for your course content. Discussion Board is a special Bb tool to enable asynchronous course discussions. Tools/Communication contains the email tool, as well as all of the other Bb tools. Learn BB HELP pro-vides a link to Bb instructions for students.

Add Announcements

Turn Edit Mode ON Click Announcements on the

course menu, or click “more an-nouncements” from the Home Page.

Click the Create Announcement button

Add a Subject Add Message Complete the Web Announcement

Options. Click Submit when finished.

To Edit or Delete an Announcement Hover your mouse over the title of the announce-

ment. Click the drop arrow, select Edit or De-lete.

To Reorder the Announcements Hover/hold left mouse button over arrows at left

of an announcement, then drag to reorder the an-nouncements list.

Why use Announcements?

Provide important reminders about assignments and exams. Provide general feedback to students. Direct students to specific course sections. Use the Notifications Option so announcement is emailed to all students in the course.

Best Practice

Edit/Delete Announcements

A Non Date Restricted announce-ment will stay available indefinitely. A ‘date restricted’ announcement will appear and disappear from the stu-dents’ view as specified by the dates. Click the Check boxes to use this op-tion. Or do not use the dates (leave the check boxes open), and the announce-ment will remain on-screen for the du-ration of the course. Select Send a Copy of this announce-ment immediately to email this an-nouncement to students.

Building your Course: Add Content (files)

Make sure Edit Mode is ON.

Select a Content area from the menu (such as Course Infor-mation or Course Material

Edit an Item Hover your mouse over the item title, click the drop arrow to: Edit: modify the item’s settings (correct any text you have entered in

the text box) or change the file attached. Adaptive Release: set viewing parameters based on specific rules for

the item. Tracking: Turn tracking on or off. View Statistics: Determine who has viewed the item/when. Make

sure Tracking is enabled to use this feature. Copy: the item to another location in this course, or any of your other

Bb courses. Move item to a new location or Delete the item.

Best Practice Convert your Word or PPT files to PDF so all students can easily open them; otherwise, students will need MS Office on their computer to view your files.

Hover your mouse over Build Content.

Click ITEM to add a file, such as a .doc, ppt, .pdf etc.Or Select Au-dio, Video or Web Site as need-ed.

Name the item (this is what stu-dents will see on their screen).

Use the text field to describe the item, or to add short bits of content.

Click Browse My Computer. Find your File, click Open. Set your Options (such as dates and

availability). Click the Submit button.

Building your Course: Create an Assignment

Assignments allow students to turn in work to you directly. 1. Make sure Edit Mode is ON. 2. Select a content area from the menu 3. Hover mouse over Assessments 4. Click Assignment.

9. Set Options: Make the Assignment Available to students Number of Attempts Date Limits: Use the check boxes, and select

dates/times. Leave boxes open if you are not using this option.

Tracking Due Date: This information is then reflected

in the grade column Recipients:

Individuals Groups: Assignment is listed in the

group’s page. 10. Click Submit when finished!

5. Name the Assignment 6. Use the Instructions box to add

instructions OR 7. Use the “Browse for Local File”

button to add instructions, or other documents needed for stu-dents to complete the assign-ment itself.

8. Enter the Points Possible.

Best Practice When you create an assignment or SafeAssignment, a column in the grade center will appear automatically Access the Grade Center to view/grade the submitted assignments.

What is SafeAssign? Safe Assign is similar to a regular assignment, but it will check students’ work for plagiarism. See our Training Web site for full details on using SafeAssign.

Basic Grade Center Information

1. Expand the Grade Center area of the Control Panel 2. Click Needs Grading 3. List of all tests and assignments that need grading

will appear

Grade a Bb Assignment or Test

Click the User’s Attempt to open it

For an Assignment: For a Test w/ Essay or Short Answer items

Use the Full Grade Center link to view the entire spread-sheet, manually add columns and download the spreadsheet

Manage Students: List, Enroll & Remove Students

List Students

Enroll Students

1. Click “Find Users to Enroll”

2. Enter student’s user name, or click browse to search for student. Click Submit if you entered student’s user name.

3. Search by any of the following criteria: �� User Name: first 2 letters first name, first 3

letter last name �� First Name �� Last Name �� Morgan Email Enter the criteria into the criteria field. Click GO. 4.Check Student, Click Submit. 5. Click Submit one more time to enroll them.

Click boxes to check off students, click “Remove Users from the Course.”

Expand the User and Groups area of the Control Panel. Click Users. Enrolled students will appear.

Remove Students

Make Your Courses Unavailable to Students at the end of the Semester

The Bb Admin add all courses to Blackboard before each semester. They are set to be available to stu-dents.

You should make your cours-es unavailable at the end of the semester.

You can still edit and work on your courses when they are una-vailable.

Click Customization Click the Properties Link

From the Properties Screen, set the Course Availability to NO. Click the Submit button at the top or bottom of the screen.

Click to enter course